> technically you have to sort by what is the problem varroa
> from the unproblem mites or you get just mite
> counts and then treat..... WRONGLY!!!.....

The absolute number of mites is not important at all,
nor is it more correct to count only the mature (reddish-brown)
mites than it is to count all mites, including the white
(immature/non-reproductive) ones.  One is tracking the
rate of population increase over time if one hopes to have
useful data, so as long as one is consistent in one's approach,
the specific method used in counting is irrelevant.

While there are some fairly well-known extension and research
types that have spoken of a "threshold", this concept is
inherently defective, as one cannot determine the rate of
population increase with a single measurement, and larger
populations of bees are certain to imply larger mite counts
than smaller colonies of bees that are infested at the same
rate of mite infestation.  The concept of a "threshold" is a
surrender to whining beekeepers who want someone to
wave a magic wand, and make the problem "easy" to
deal with.

> hurting then the delicate balance inside a beehive that has
> always been there with co-existance........

I've yet to see "co-existence" with varroa unless some sort
of tactic is used to reduce the mite population.

> Then to consider...........if you put the BAD varroa then
> back into harmony with the bees and they are no longer a
> problem............

I've never seen a "good" varroa mite.  I've seen some harmless
ones, but they had one thing in common - they were all dead.  :)

> So question again: If you are seeing white and now you say
> red or brown mites ARE THEY THE SAME species????

If they are not the same species, then a lot of people have
somehow missed something that might be important.
I don't see how it might be all that important, as all varroa
seem to be parasites of bees, and the same treatment
approaches seem to work in the same way, planetwide.

> HOW DO YOU SORT THE MITES FALLING AND YOU
> ARE SEEING!!! And yes I am shouting this...........for the
> white and red and brown, etc cannot all be the same!

The general consensus appears to be that they are
different developmental stages of the same mite.

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